Friday 3rd February 2016

(Answers available from Monday 13th February)

Quantum Physics Problem Sheet 1

1. What are the frequencies for electromagnetic fields with the following wavelengths: 1 mm
(millimetre wave), 500 nm (average of sunlight), 200 nm (ultraviolet), 10 nm (soft x-ray),
0.1 nm (hard x-ray).
You can also (by the second week of the course) evaluate the energies of photons of these
respective frequencies (most compact to give photon energies in eV rather than Joules).
2. Estimate the magnitude of the action for the following trajectories: (a) A cricket ball hit
for six (only an order of magnitude is needed so no need to know any details about the
game of cricket).
(b) An electron with a kinetic energy of 5 keV propagating for 30 cm through a vacuum
tube.
(c) An electron with an energy of 0.4 eV traversing a 1 nm scale quantum dot.
How quantum is each of these situations?
3. Metallic aluminium has atomic weight 27 and density 2700 kg m−3 . Estimate the radius of
an aluminium atom in Ångstroms. What would be a suitable range of x-ray wavelengths
for determining the structure of a sample of Al through diffraction?
4. The ionisation energy of a hydrogen atom is 13.6 eV. By equating the thermal energy
scale, kB T , to the ionisation energy, estimate the temperature of the universe when the
first neutral H atoms formed.

5. A wave is described as u(x, t) = 0.5 cos(2x − 3t) (where x and t are position and time),
what is: (a) the phase velocity of the wave, (b) the intensity?
6. Show that the wave
ψ(x, t) = a cos(−kx − ωt + φ)
has wavelength λ = 2π/k and frequency ν = ω/2π. Show that the wave crests travel with
speed ω/k in the −x direction.
√
7. The dispersion relation of large deep ocean waves is ω = gk. What is the phase velocity
(the velocity of the wave crests) when the wavelength is 10 m?
8. A short pulse is synthesized in our laboratory in Blackett at a central wavelength of 800
nm. It has a duration (full width at half-maximum) of just 3.5 fs. What is the minimum

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 frequency bandwidth (full width at half-maximum) required to form this pulse? How many
optical cycles comprise this pulse?

9. If light propagating in vacuum has a frequency of f = 2.5 × 1014 Hz, what are the as-
sociated wavelength λ and wavevector k? If a beam of light of this wavelength were to
propagate through or past the following objects would you expect appreciable diffraction
effects; (a) A 2 cm diameter lens, (b) A 1 mm diameter iris, (c) a 0.010 mm slit and (d) a
human hair ?
10. Briefly explain how x-rays can be generated by electrons: (a) using a metal target, (b)
using a synchrotron. Electrons in an X-ray tube are accelerated by a potential difference
of 30 kV. What is the minimum wavelength of the resulting X-rays?
A diffraction experiment measures a Bragg spot at a reflection angle of θ = 10o from a
crystal surface, if the lattice spacing in the crystal was d = 2.8 × 10−10 m, what was the
x-ray wavelength?
To make this wavelength of X-rays using an X-ray tube what is the minimum accelerating
voltage required?
Assessed Problem
11. (a) If a plane wave of wavelength λ = 600nm passes through a long rectangular slit of
width 10 µm what will be the angle where the 1st diffraction minimum is located?
(i) 60 mrad, (ii) 600 mrad, (iii) 167 mrad, (iv) 16.7 mrad, (v) 120 mrad [3 marks]
(b) If there are two such slits placed 40µm apart, how many fringes will be found between
the diffraction minima?
(i) 6, (ii) 7, (iii) 8, (iv) 9, (v) 0 [4 marks]
If a transparent phase plate that retards the field phase by π is placed in front of one of the
slits how will the diffraction pattern be changed?
(i) Pattern unchanged, (ii) Pattern shifted, 7 fringes between diffraction minima, (iii) Pat-
tern shifted, 8 fringes between diffraction minima, (iv) Pattern shifted, 9 fringes between
diffraction minima [3 marks]
Suggested Tutorial Problem if time, question 10 if not
The next exercise is not compulsory, it is a derivation of the diffraction formula for a slit that may
appeal to the more mathematically minded (from Prof Foulke’s version of this course cicrca 2011)

12. This question takes you through the theory of diffraction — the way that waves spread out
as they emerge from a narrow opening. Although quite difficult, it provides good prac-
tice with the complex representation of waves and my prove useful when we discuss the
uncertainty principle. It is worth the effort (says Prof Foulkes) (recomended for Tutorials).

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 y=d/2

y θ

y=0

0
ζ=
y=−d/2
ζd
ire
cti
on

Parallel monochromatic plane waves of wavelength λ = 2π/k and frequency ν = ω/2π

pass through a narrow slit stretching from y = −d/2 to y = d/2. To work out the wave
emerging at angle θ, it is helpful to imagine dividing the slit into huge numbers of tiny
segments, each of height ∆y. The amplitude of the wave emerging from each segment is
proportional to the height of that segment, and so the wave emerging from the segment at
y = 0 may be written as
Aei(kζ−ωt) ∆y ,
where ζ measures the distance from the centre of the slit in the θ direction and the complex
constant A encodes the overall amplitude and phase of the wave.
(i) Write down the wave emerging from the segment ∆y at height y.
(ii) Show that the total wave emerging in the ζ direction is
Z d/2
i(kζ−ωt)
ψ(ζ, t) = Ae eiky sin θ dy .
−d/2

(iii) Evaluate the integral and hence show that the intensity emerging at angle θ is
 
|A|2 d2 sin2 kd sin θ
2
I(θ) =  2 .
kd sin θ
2

(iv) Sketch I as a function of 21 kd sin θ. What is the path-length difference between the
top and the bottom of the slit when θ corresponds to the first zero of the diffraction
pattern?

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Physical Constants

me ≈ 9.11 × 10−31 kg ≈ 511 keV/c2

atomic mass unit ≈ 1.66 × 10−27 kg
h ≈ 6.63 × 10−34 Js
h̄ ≈ 1.05 × 10−34 Js
c ≈ 3.00 × 108 ms−1
e ≈ 1.60 × 10−19 C
g ≈ 9.8 ms−1
NA ≈ 6.02 × 1023
R ≈ 8.314 JK−1
kB ≈ 1.38 × 10−23 JK−1